In recent years the market for cell phones has been continuously increasing, and this has especially been true of during the last 5–8 years, during which time there has been near-explosive growth in cell phone numbers and in the associated technology. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know that cell phones have evolved far beyond their humble beginnings as a product where early models were large/low functionality devices. Today, improvements in the technology of cell phone hardware and its associated communications protocols have decreased the size of cell phones and increased their functionality to the point where they have begun to supplant stand-alone devices such as personal information managers, digital cameras, etc. Cell phones which initially were limited to performing the basic telephone and minimal task planning functions today have evolved into small portable computers which utilize their own internal microprocessor, memory, and display device to provide features such as internet connectivity, receipt of email, and calendar functionality, etc. Additionally, and of particular importance to the instant disclosure, many cell phone models also include multimedia capabilities. These capabilities might include digital photography, AM/FM radio reception, interactive games that are played on the cell phone's LCD screen, and possibly some ability to play digital audio files (e.g., mp3 files). The increase in internal processing power has encouraged the development of open-architecture operating systems that allow for customisation or development of additional applications by third parties.
That being said, it should be noted that the multimedia capabilities of cell phones are typically limited to a “create the media—transfer the media” level of functionality. For example, the audio features in a cell phone typically include capabilities such as creating a ring tone, storing audio files, listening to audio files and recording audio data. Of course, these features are designed to be experienced solely by the cell phone owner and feature only a very limited ability to work with the provided audio data. Even though the central purpose of a cell phone is interaction with another person, to date no known multimedia function permits one cell phone user to interact in a cooperative way with another while utilizing the multimedia capabilities of his or her phone.
Of course, a central problem in this regard is in synchronizing the two (or more) cell phones that are involved in the interaction. That is, since each cell phone is essentially an autonomous computer, any attempt to create an interaction between two of them must necessarily begin by establishing a common synchronization, else, interchanges between their respective owners will be out of sync and the interchange will likely lose its appeal.
Thus what is needed is a method which enables a cell phone user to utilize the multimedia features of his or her cell phone so as to interact with one or more other cell phone users with similar multimedia features. It is further necessary that some method of synchronizing the two or more devices be provided so that the interaction can be more enjoyable for the participants. Finally, what is especially needed is for two or more cell phone users to be able to create an interactive audio or music experience by utilizing their respective phones such that the composite output is synchronized between the two phones.
Heretofore, as is well in the cell phone, and multimedia arts, there has been a need for an invention to address and solve the above-described problems. Accordingly it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventors, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a system and method that would address and solve the above-described problems.
Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of this invention within the ambit of the appended claims.